By Christine de Kock
SELECT job agencies in the West will take up a State Government funded initiative and focus on finding work for refugees and migrants.
The $24 million Workforce Participation Partnerships project aims to match individuals with local employers.
The money will be spent over two years and will be given to the agencies when they make successful matches.
Three job agencies operating in the City of Maribyrnong will take part in the project – YES West Connects, New Hope Foundation, and Victoria University in partnership with community organisations.
The agencies will focus on finding employees for sectors that have staff shortages like engineering, and construction.
Other areas in need include manufacturing, hospitality, aged care, disability and child care.
Elias Tsigaras, New Hope Foundation’s acting director, said it would focus on helping the Horn of Africa communities.
“The statistics show there is a higher level of unemployment among some of those groups in the western region of Melbourne.”
Mr Tsigaras said the organisation was building its relationships with employers in areas like meat processing and manufacturing.
“We hope to help in excess of 300 people over 18 months,” he said.
“That’s what we are looking at, but the reality is that people have to maintain work over a certain period of time.
“The employers I have spoken to are willing and ready to give those people a go, and there is some pre-employment training skills that we are looking at in terms of basic communication in the Australian work context.”
He said project participants would be given training on such subjects as Australian colloquialisms which tend to be used in the workplace.
In some instances, new employees will be given mentoring from members of their own cultural community.
Carmen Ilibasic, YES West Connects chief executive officer, said the organisation aimed to help about 150.
She said many refugees and migrants were desperate to find work.
“We see many people who say they need to get working because they need to be able to pay the bills and feed the family.
“This program actually helps us alleviate problems.
“Without the benefit of this program they would be working in areas that are far beneath them in terms of their employability skills, and that’s a real loss to the state as well.
“The state needs to be benefiting from the skills these people are bringing in with them.”
